SALISBURY — A week-long massive manhunt for a felony drug fugitive who used his pickup truck to ram a police vehicle with three officers inside before police fired their guns at him ended quietly on Wednesday with the suspect’s arrest at a residence in Dover.
For the last week, multiple law enforcement agencies across Maryland’s Lower Shore including Worcester and Wicomico and in neighboring Delaware continued to search for Edwin L. Fletcher, whose last known address was on Riverside Drive in Salisbury. Since the incident last Wednesday, Fletcher has now been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, assault and other charges.
The search ended around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday when the Maryland State Apprehension Team, in cooperation with Delaware law enforcement, located Fletcher at a residence in Dover and arrested him without further incident. The investigation is ongoing and Fletcher’s relationship to others at the residence is unknown. Fletcher will be taken before the Delaware Justice of the Peace for an extradition hearing, but it is not known at this time if he will waive extradition to Maryland to face attempted murder charges.
Shortly after 8 p.m. last Wednesday, a team of combined state, county and local police were searching for Fletcher in an attempt to serve him with an arrest warrant for a felony drug charge. A short time later, Fletcher was observed in a parking lot off Market Street in Salisbury in a rented Dodge Ram pickup truck. When police converged on Fletcher, identifying themselves and ordering him to surrender, the suspect rammed a Maryland State Police vehicle head on and then drove up on top of the cruiser.
Three law enforcement officers were in the vehicle, including two MSP troopers and a Wicomico County Sheriff’s Deputy. All three officers were injured and were taken to PRMC in Salisbury for treatment before being released on the following day last Thursday. Each of the injured officers remain on leave while recovering from their injuries.
New information released this week revealed three other officers on the scene fired their service weapons at Fletcher when it became apparent his ramming of the police cruiser endangered the lives of the officers inside the vehicle. However, there is no indication Fletcher or the unidentified person with him were struck during the barrage of fire from the officers.
The officers who fired their weapons have been identified as a Maryland State Police trooper assigned to the State Police Gang Enforcement Unit, a deputy assigned to the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force and a Salisbury Police officer assigned to the Gang Enforcement Unit. The three injured officers and the three officers who fired their weapons have not been named. Each of the officers works undercover and releasing their names could jeopardize their personal safety.
Fletcher fled the scene in the rented pickup truck, but the vehicle was found abandoned a short time later. Maryland State Police, along with Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office and Salisbury Police Department officers continued to search for Fletcher last Wednesday night and all day last Thursday to no avail.
The search for Fletcher continued through last weekend and all of this week as allied law enforcement agencies across the Lower Shore including Worcester and Somerset Counties coordinated their efforts.
Meanwhile, the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigation into the police-involved shooting continued this week as per standard policy. Upon completion, a report will be submitted to the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office for review.